The role of prayer and trust in my creative life
Like many aspiring writers, I worried about how I was going to create a space where words could flow freely from within me onto the page.
I kept thinking about this quote from Toni Morrison, referenced in Opening the Writer’s Desk: Writing Tips from Toni Morrison by Mary Adkins:
“I tell my students one of the most important things they need to know is when they are their best, creatively, they need to ask themselves: What does the ideal room look like? Is there music? Is there silence? Is there chaos outside or is there serenity outside? What do I need in order to release my imagination?”
What was going to be that space for me?
If you know me, you know I find comfort in having a plan. It feels like a warm blanket. So, that’s exactly what I did: I made a plan.
My Original Plan (Spoiler: It Didn’t Work)
I spent time developing step-by-step instructions to summon my most creative self:
Go on a walk to clear my head.
Put on some music to get in the mood to romance my prose.
Position my typewriter-style keyboard just right, overlooking the best view from my office.
Vigorously study my outline, notes, and character development until every detail was memorized.
Rigid. I know. What can I say? I’m a recovering control freak. Admittedly, I have relapses every now and again.
Take a big, ocean-sized guess. Did my plan work? I tried it once. While I got through my first writing session, I quickly realized I wasn’t connecting—to my story, my characters, or more importantly, to myself.
Those steps were rooted in fear. Fear that nothing would come out when my fingers hit the keyboard. Fear that I wouldn’t create anything meaningful. That all I’d produce would be a minimalist masterpiece of mediocrity.
Creating anything from a place of fear wasn’t the move.
Writing From Faith, Not Fear
Instead, I decided to move forward in faith. No frills. No candles. No magical playlists. Just prayer. And a moment of stillness.
That became my only ritual. One that could happen anywhere:
At my desk.
In my children’s play area.
In the car on the way to piano practice.
Prayer and meditation became my grounding, my creative signal to body and spirit: It’s time to write.
My worry was slowly replaced by writing on purpose.
Signaling My Spirit to Create
As a full-time mother, wife, and professional, most of my day is filled with tasks that require the opposite of creativity. Some are logistical. Others are purely external. Many require little to no introspection. So I needed a way to send a signal to my spirit. To say, now, it’s time to create.
And here’s the truth: the place doesn’t matter. (Though I’ve learned I can’t write on my laptop, it feels too much like work. But that’s a different blog for a different day.)
Whether I’m wrapping up a day of analyzing data or leading a strategy session, when my writing time arrives, I pause:
I close my eyes.
Fold my hands.
Take a deep breath.
And I pray for the day to fade away, and the story in my heart to come alive.
Something Divine Happens
With that, my body relaxes. My mind softens. My inner rigidity dissolves. And something divine happens. The story echoes within me.
There’s an emotional truth that starts to weave itself into my prose. Throughout the session, I remain grounded, in meditation, in prayer, in trust. My fingers move freely. My shoulders release tension. I’m in posture physically and spiritually to connect.
Living Alongside My Characters
Tapping into the consciousness of your characters and envisioning their world can feel daunting but it’s invaluable. When I’m present, I can hear their thoughts. Feel their hesitation. See the sun as it rises in their world.
Staying in consistent prayer and meditation allows me to take up residence alongside my characters. They become more textured, more alive. And my only job is to listen and be truthful to the story I’ve been entrusted to tell.
Prayer clears the doubt. It silences the unworthiness. It unlocks the intuition I’ve been gifted.
A Gentle Call to You
So here’s my gentle call to action:
If you're struggling to write—if the worries, duties, and to-dos of the day have made your mind and body tense, take a breath.
Find your space.
Claim your time.
Set your ritual.
And say a little prayer to get started.
It changed things for me. And I believe, truly believe, it can do the same for you.
